Popple's Adventures: Monty Monitoring
by SuperSockMonkey
Summary: Popple's Predicament now continues. Popple is set on his first job; to find Bowser's tunnel plans deep within the Monty's caves. But is this job too easy?
1. GO TO IT

_Hey! It's Popple's first day on the job, remember, if you haven't read __Popple's Predicament__, then I suggest you go read it before this. Otherwise, the whole beginning won't make sense. In this story, Popple takes on the Montys, but is he going by the book, or by his likings?_

…

Popple sat down at the castle meeting table. It was pretty posh, complete with carpet ON the tables. Peach had given him his first mission since he agreed to the job. She was nice to have taken him in after his brave act and courtesy towards her. It wasn't long until his talents were needed. He was the only one there. He whistled and waited for a few minutes when Toadbert walked in.

"This meeting is top secret, By Boogity! No one can know of this. We have confirmation that Bowser has hired the Montys to build him a network of subway tunnels under the whole Kingdom. If he succeeds in doing this, well, it would take a ton of time to fill back in, schzaam! Golly, even the Mario Bros would poop out!" Toadbert declared.

"So why ask me? The Mario Bros could stomp those Montys any time of the day, or, night if it's dark in the tunnels. Boo, I say!"

"That's the thing, by the time the Mario Bros get down there; their highly polished sneakers will have made too much noise! You can sneak down there. You grab the plans, bring them back here, and find out which Moles are involved. And the Mario Bros will fill in the action by taking out any Montys you discover as part of it."

"What, so, I just hang back and let the Bros take the credit? BOO, criminey!"  
"You get paid in the end, anyway. Besides, you signed up for this exact job; that job being a thief. We let you do your job, since you're the best at it. We also let the Mario Bros do what they are best at, to be thorough and efficient, I say."

"Fine, I'm in. Where do I go to quit these Monty's merry making, see?"

"As far as we know, it starts at a grove in Dimble Wood. It's towards the edge where Dimble divides into Bubble Lake. You should see it." Popple grabbed his bag of 1-ups and a few mushrooms, vile as they were. Before he left the castle gates, he searched his shelves for a coffee canister in his house. His house was a lovely fungal shaped house on top of a hill. It was surrounded by trees, but there was a space to view the castle. There were a few Treevils, but they were already dried and ready to morph into splinters.

He could battle pretty well; he still didn't understand why he couldn't whack the senses out of those vermin. After a few acres of land, he found a mysterious cave. That had to be it. Time to take this dirt trap. He hugged the wall as he went in, even though there was a lot of room to enter, stealth was still a factor. He kept scootching along the wall until he met roughly carved stairs. The Montys never work hard unless the project is of some important. He descended flight after flight of a winding, and gradually narrowing staircase. It took at least 5 minutes to safely climb all the way down. It wouldn't have taken that long, but the tunnel was completely black.

Popple remembered his time in the sandy caverns of the Beanbean Kingdom. He shivered. The ground was on a smooth slant, but flattened out. Seconds later, he heard voices… The voices were growing louder, and more impatient…


	2. Surrounded by Palookas

_Hi there! Glad to see you made it to the second chapter! Popple's starting to explore the caves…. Who knows what he's going to find down there… I know :D Read on, young Skywalker_

…

The voices grew louder and louder until Popple heard some sort of a mix between a grunt and a sigh… he could only describe it as a "FWUUGHF." Popple seen them in the distance, just a couple of yards away. He thought he was done for, caught in the dim, nearby torch (which lighting was close to midnight level). It turned out, their backs were facing him, and they were sitting down. It wasn't until the Montys started speaking, that Popple knew he was safe. He had no idea how boring a Monty conversation was!

"Catch last night's episode of 'Dirt Diggers?'"

"Yeah, there was even more diggin' than last week's episode, WOW, that guy knew how to shovel rocks!"

"Yeah, Oh! What do you have for lunch today?"

"The Mrs. packed me some gravel. Whadda you have?"

"Gravel. Wanna trade?"

"Sure."

The conversations sadly went on like this. He heard a LOT of crunching, and inched his way into the next sector. Each section had beams supporting the roof, rocks half mined, shovels completely rusted, rotting benches, and even more dirt. Yuck. There were so many rooms, and the next seemed to have three tunnels at the end to choose from. RATS. Popple knew he should have gotten life insurance! Anyone could get lost down here. The only source of direction was memory and the deep feeling in your gut.

Hours passed until Popple entered the most peculiar room… There were machines! Bulldozers, rock pounders… TRAIN TRACKS! These tracks must be for Bowser's plans… Popple hopped into a rather large bulldozer, planning on taking it for a spin, until he heard the gruff voice of a Mole.

"WHADD ARE YA STANDIN ROUND ERE FOR? GET A MOVE ON!" There must have been workers around that he hadn't seen; he had to have the luck of a thief for that! The hoarse voice of the Monty indicated that he was quite experienced. He had to be in charge… maybe. He was definitely the one to follow. In fact, Popple had to follow him ALL the way back to one of the rooms that was near the Munching Montys he encountered. Only instead of making a right, the Mole made a left and right into his office. FIGURES! Through the glass window on the door, Popple peered into his room, and there were the plans, sitting right on his desk. The next step?

Let's see here, retrieve the plans, spot the Montys in charge of the operation, and flee to the Kingdom and let his credit be taken away…

NOT! Popple had a better plan.


	3. Caught In Full Sight

_Yesss, Popple is making progress, but has he hit a dead end? Oh no…. There is still more chapters to come!_

…

The gruff Mole plopped down on his wooden chair (a bit too harshly) and laid back. Within seconds, he was snoring like a growling puppy. Scratch that- growling Rottweiler. Popple opened the squeaking door, badly in need of oil, and crept into the almost pitch black room. Popple did his work and swiped the plans to the tracks. He rolled them up and shoved them in his pocket. Now to take care of this guy. Popple took out his hammer, ready to strike, when he spotted a sticky note in his right shirt pocket. He only seen the top of it, but it was enough. "Train Track Chiefs (idiots)."

This guy would really be a bad boss to have, even on a good day. Popple would have just reached into his pocket and grabbed it, but there was one problem. This guy was F. A. T. He had to have eaten 13 ½ apple pies… for a snack. Imagine the workout this guy must have to do to even earn that! 100 mph treadmill. Heh. Popple laughed at the thought of even Bowser doing that.

Popple climbed ever so lightly on the Mole's head and reached down to his shirt pocket. Almost… his fingertips could reach it… Suddenly, the Mole shifted and rumbled and shook and jiggled until he let out the mother of belches. BOY, how many chillie dogs did this guy shove down his throat? He settled again, and Popple reached just a little farther. GOT IT! The Mole started to shake again, and wobbled, and Popple was bucked off the guy's stomach and onto the floor with an, "oof." This guy was going to wake up. The Mole then stopped and mumbled something along the lines of "choco cookie pizza…" Slob.

Popple stood up and brushed the dust off his shirt. He lifted up his hammer and brought down the mightiest of blows he could muster, and the Mole was forced down into the dirt. The only thing you could see of him was the top of his hat.

"Sir, You have just been defeated, see?" Popple declared. He smiled. Suddenly, the ground erupted in fury and an angry and the giant furry marble growled at the intruder. Worried, Popple grabbed a set of keys from the wall and bolted down the hallway back down the hallway in which the tracks were located. This guy was flying for such a heavy duty tummy (or perhaps he was rolling his way down). Popple didn't look back until he was in the right room, out of breath. HHe could hear the heavy breathing Mole chasing him. Popple kept running past the piles and sets of tracks.

Popple ran between two machines only to meet the wall at the end. The Mole was nearly there, and soon he was upon Popple. Or he would have been, had the narrow path between the bulldozers been a little wider. Or, a lot wider at that. The Mole stopped, panting, and put his chubby arms between the devices, pushing them outwards. Oh no, this guy was stronger than he thought. The Mole was almost done pushing.


	4. Squashing Those Drips

_Uh oh, Popple's in for it now. He messed with the bull, now he gets the horns. The name of this chapter is Secret… Just Kidding! It's called "Squashing Those Drips"_

...

Popple had a brain blast! He quickly hopped on top of the Bulldozer to his right. Using the keys he got from the Mole's office, he turned one in the start engine. Didn't work. He tried the next, no luck. The Mole was almost done, just a few inches. Popple rapidly flipped through the keys, trying one after the next. He had one key left. The guy was done, now catching his breath. Popple stuck it in the ignition. The key was too big. WHAT? It, it had to be the one! He threw them at the window when he spotted something shining in the cup holder. There was the ignition key. Wow.

Quick as lightning, Popple turned the bulldozer on and stepped on the pedal. The machine rammed the Monty on his side, and sent him rolling into the next few hallways. Popple whipped out the list of all the Montys that were working on the project. He figured the machine knocked the wind out of the Mole and left him unconscious. Then again, he was wrong when he pounded his stubby little face into the ground. He would at least be out of the way. He had to find the rest of the Moles before they changed shifts. If someone heard this commotion, the Moles would be on him quicker than the Mario Bros could smooth out their staches.

"Let's see here- Criminey! This Mold is near where I am!" He followed the directions on the sticky note to the designated room, which he had remembered running past on his way here. He plowed through the dirt hallways and found the room. He ran the machine right up to the only Mole in the room, and sent him flying to the wall in the back. If that didn't get him, Popple decided to make sure. He set to full gear and broke the support beams, and the roof came crashing down on the Mole. That's one, three more to go. He proceeded to do the rest. But he was careless with the first one. Before he made his introduction, he made sure he singled out each main Mole in the room. Ah, the rest were done.

He was on his way back to the stairs, when he spotted a familiar face. The sweaty doughnut Mole was there, staring at him with red tainted eyes. He let out sort of a growl of anguish and vengeance. Jeez! This guy wasn't going to quit. They were facing each other, directly, intensely. One long hallway. Two of them. One way out. Popple was going to end this. He started off slow, and made his way to the highest gear. The Giant Monty started to charge. This guy was crazy!

Popple closed his eyes and braced himself for the impact. The Monty Mole punched the very front of the bulldozer. Popple ended up flying face first into the window as his vehicle spun in mid air and came crashing into the ground. The bulldozer landed upside down, still spinning. His own head was spinning, and his whole body was twisting, and it was so impossible to move out of the Monty's way. He was coming closer to him, ready to take Popple's puny being out.

Suddenly, the ground started to shake. The weight of the bulldozer, plus the Monty's, PLUS the impact of the crash was weakening the floor. This was enough to pull Popple to his feet. He scrambled out of the driver's seat and ran towards the staircase, as the ground behind him collapsed to the level below them, and the level below that, and the level below that. He heard the faint screaming and howling of the giant Mole. Popple kept running and running; he was tired of running today, but he couldn't stop. He could feel the loose dirt giving way behind him, then at his heels. In seconds, he was slipping away, scrambling to the stairs, mere feet from him. Popple grabbed the air, and the departing dirt, but he grabbed nothing else. He felt the sensation of falling.


	5. The Old RingADing

_The final chapter of the first adventure. Ahhh. The name of this chapter is The Old Ring-A-Ding. Hope you liked this story! More Popple will come after this._

__...__

Falling was much like a roller coaster, but there was no harness, nor end that was of any fun. Popple was now grabbing anything on the wall. He caught a root of some prehistoric plant, and held on for dear life, even though his arm nearly broke as he stopped his fall. He knew he couldn't climb up, much too hard and far. Popple sighed, he had to become a Monty. He started to make a hole next to the root until it grew to a little nook. He set himself inside it. He might as well dig up until he found a Monty tunnel that was undamaged. He scooped handful after handful of rocks, gravel, and dirt. He dug up at a descently steep incline, and kept on this for about an hour when he reached to dig more. Only, he didn't shovel dirt, but jewels! They weren't natural, for there were so many clustered together of different kinds.

He lifted himself up to the very top of the heap, and he glanced around. The Monty's Treasury! What a sight for eyes- gold, silver, platinum, ruby, diamond, emeralds, and so many more! Not only will this please himself, but perhaps prove something to tat By Boogity toad Toadbert! Yeah… Popple shoved his pockets with as much treasure as they could hold. He dumped out his coffee and filled it to the brim. He took his two sacks and tossed them over his back. Now, to get outta here. The door was probably armored and had an alarm. He would exit the way he came and cover up his trail.

Popple did a careful job doing this, and started to dig back up. More hours passed. Those Toads will be wondering where he is! But one should never question a thief. He was almost to the surface, for he spotted a couple of worms and pill bugs. Disgusting! Popple surfaced in the middle of Dimble Wood, so hiking back wouldn't take long, just tiring from all of these jewels. He sat down to take a moment and relax. It was over. At last! He almost dozed off a bit, from the exhaustion. But a strange sound awoke him. Something green was nibbling at his sacks. That green something turned out to be a Sockop.

Popple sat up and watched, stunned, as the Sockop swallowed the two hole sacks whole! Popple chased it right into the Sockop den, a dangerous place, and the Sockop cried and ran to the largest chief of Sockops. It looked at Popple and narrowed its eyes. It hopped towards Popple. And again. And again. And soon, Popple was running for his life towards the Mushroom Kingdom. The Sockop was right behind him, until Popple charged right into the village gates, and the large Sockop would not go any farther. The Shadow Thief spalled his forehead as he remembered that he left his coffee canister back at the tree. Oh well. He was going to have to make do with the two pocketfuls that he had. It was still a pretty good deal. Sort of.

Popple walked straight to the castle and Toadbert was waiting to greet him at the castle door.

"Well, someone's late for stealing a single piece of paper… BY BOOGITY YOU'VE BEEN GONE for at least a day and a half!"

"One loses track of time in complete darkness. Besides, you don't have to worry about those Moles, I took care of them. Rammed em' right into the wall, I did. And collapsed the ceiling to boot! Any job ya had for the Mario Bros you can destroy. I'M ON FIRE! Oh, before you go get my payment, give this to Peach, see? See if I did above and beyond my call of duty, eh?" Popple took out a pocketful of jewels and handed them to Toadbert. He nearly flipped out of his glasses at the sight. Toadbert rushed off to seek Princess Peach. Popple smiled. His work was done here. That is… for today.


End file.
